Gang Member Pleads Not Guilty In SF Triple Murder Case
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A second man accused of killing a father and two of his sons in San Francisco in 2008 pleaded not guilty to murder charges Tuesday.
Wilfredo "Flaco" Reyes, 31, was arrested in North Carolina on July 9 on suspicion of murdering Anthony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, at the intersection of Congdon and Maynard streets in the city's Excelsior District on June 22, 2008.
Reyes spoke softly in court Tuesdays morning, entering not-guilty pleas to three counts of murder and denying various special allegations, including participation in a criminal street gang.
Prosecutors say Reyes and Edwin Ramos, both alleged members of the MS-13 gang, mistook the Bolognas for rival gang members and killed them in revenge for the shooting of another MS-13 gang member earlier that day.
Ramos, 25, of El Sobrante, was convicted in May of three counts of murder and other charges and was sentenced last month to three consecutive terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
A third Bologna son, Andrew, now 22, survived the shooting. Andrew Bologna testified against Ramos, saying he saw Ramos fire the shots and that he did not see anyone else in the car from which the shots were fired.
Ramos, testifying in his own defense, admitted he was the driver of the car but said Reyes shot the Bolognas from the passenger seat.
The jury deadlocked on the charge that Ramos fired the fatal shots. Prosecutors were not charging Reyes with firing the gun, but rather with aiding and abetting the shooting.
Reyes, who remained on the loose for four years after the shooting and apparently lived under various aliases, was found and arrested on July 9 at a home in Rowan County, N.C.
He was extradited back to San Francisco on Thursday and made an initial appearance in court the following day.
After that hearing, District Attorney George Gascon held a news conference and said he would not be seeking the death penalty against Reyes, who remains in custody on $5 million bail.
Deputy Public Defender Stephen Olmo, who is representing Reyes, said Tuesday that he has only been able to speak for a few hours with his client so far.
"He's anxious, as anyone would be facing these charges," Olmo said to reporters outside of court.
Reyes will return to court on Aug. 22 for a status hearing in the case.
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